Epilepsy is one of the most important neurological diseases with prolonged morbidity and disability leading to profound fi nancial loss. There have not been many studies investigating factors infl uencing the quality of life in an epilepsy patient in India. This study was conducted among the epilepsy patients attending a tertiary care hospital in West Bengal, India. Two hundred and four epilepsy patients attending the Outpatient Clinic of the Department of Neuromedicine, Medical College, Kolkata were interviewed with the Bengali version of QOLIE 9 (i.e. Quality of life in Epilepsy 9 questionnaire). The mean of total QOLIE score was 18.02 ± 4.87, the range being 10 to 30. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that workdays lost due to epilepsy in last three months, use of two or more antiepileptic drugs, higher frequency of seizure, and longer time gap between onset of seizure and consultation with neurologist were signifi cant predictors for poorer quality of life score in the epilepsy patient.

A cross-sectional study was conducted with the aim to explore the present status of birth preparedness and complication readiness in rural area of West Bengal and determine the possible factor(s) influencing their knowledge and practice regarding this concern. Thirty villages with homogenous characteristics were identified by cluster sampling methods from a rural block (Bhatar, Burdwan district, West Bengal) of India on April 2013 to November 2013. From every cluster 7 mothers who had delivered baby within the last year and were available first, interviewed consecutively using a guided questionnaire adapted from JHPIEGO Maternal and Neonatal Health Programme survey tools. Multivariate logistic regression was applied in analysis to predict how much the independent variables influenced the birth preparedness of mothers. 62.4% mothers were found to be well prepared. Trained birth attendants and health facilities were identified before delivery in 81.9% and 78.1% cases respectively. Mode of transportation for complication management or delivery was pre-decided by about 60% of family. Only 35.7% family saved money for the same purpose. Logistic regression revealed that well preparedness increased 11 times with every new pregnancy, but it did not depend on caste and education status of the mothers. The overall birth preparedness status of the rural mothers is poor and they acquire more knowledge regarding birth preparedness from their self experience rather than from existing health system. ​
Parturition ; Rural Population ; India

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is rapidly spreading throughout the world. It's an insidious disease and still treated in an indirect manner without having specific drug target. In majority cases T2D is treated with drugs that address type 1 diabetes, majority of drugs aim to increase insulin release although the root cause for T2D is not the dearth of insulin release, it occurs in the later stage of disease development. T2D silently progressed in the patient; it begins with insulin resistance that takes place due to the loss of insulin sensitivity. Though insulin resistance is the centre of pathogenesis, our treatment of the disease has not yet addressed it. It is now a fact that insulin resistance is manifested by lipid and fatty acids (FAs) play a critical role in blunting insulin sensitivity. Our understanding is still poor in deciphering how lipid impose insulin insensitivity, majority of workers suggest it is because of insulin signaling defects which implements insulin function in inhibiting glucose to the cell from circulation. Number of long chain saturated FA has been shown to produce insulin signaling defects. However, we really need further investigation to find specific target(s) for FA induced damage. In addition to these information, a new dimension of T2D is getting attractive is fetuin-A/alpha2-Heremans-Schmid Glycoprotein, a secretary protein from liver. Its gene locus has been identified as T2D susceptible. Fetuin-A's excess expression occurs by FA and it disrupts adipocyte function. It has been shown to be associated with T2D especially in obesity. In this review, we briefly discuss the present status on the mechanistic understanding of lipid induced insulin resistance that leads to T2D. More we understand the mechanism; opportunity to fight the battle with T2D will be increasing. Since, this field is now vast; we covered a few major events.
Adipocytes ; alpha-2-HS-Glycoprotein ; Fatty Acids ; Glucose ; Glycoproteins ; Hypogonadism ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Liver ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Obesity ; Ophthalmoplegia